Nippon Ichi Want To Explore The Idea Of Fear With Shin Hayarigami

Nippon Ichi Software recently announced that they’re working on the latest of the Japan-only horror game series with Shin Hayarigami for PlayStation 3 and Vita. It’s been five years since the release of the previous installment, and 4Gamer shares a few details on what the new game will bring.

According to the report, the cast will be made up of all new characters, while retaining the essence of the past Hayarigami games. For this reason, the game isn’t considered a part of its main-numbered series. There will also be a few changes to how the story will be told.

The story in Shin Hayarigami will start out from the main part of “Blind Man” as the root, and will branch out according to the choices you make.

In addition to features in the previous games, where you used logic to solve supernatural cases, the game introduces a new feature called “Liar’s Art” that will allow you to check a character’s psyche for lies and bring out some useful information.

Here’s a look at two of the game’s characters:

Saki Houjou:

Saki is a young lady with a refreshing personality, and not a single mean bone in her body. She’s active, and likes to take care of those around her. She’s a determined police officer who never complains in front of others. She does have a bit of a cowardly side to her, but she never shows it.

Saki specializes psychological warfare that involves “lies” and “acts”.

Sojiro Sekimoto:

Sojiro is a former university professor who studied urban legends. After being suspected of a murder, he’s been spending time at a prison in Tokyo. During his trial, he claimed to have convincing information about an incident at a certain village, and will be cooperating with the police on the matter.

“What is scary?” and “What are the causes of fear?” are questions that have different answers depending on the person. The concept behind the development of Shin Hayarigami is “Let’s make a game that everybody will find scary,” while letting players play to their liking with the choices they make.

According to director Kazuya Takasu, Shin Hayarigami will follow the theme of the series, while pursuing “fear,” so they can make something that fans of the Hayarigami series and fans of horror games can appreciate.

Shin Hayarigami is slated for release on August 7, 2014 for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.